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July 2016 Wisconsin’s Chapter ~ Interested & Involved Number 59

During this time in history: (December 1803 - August 1806)

(The source for all entries is, "The Journals of

the Lewis & Clark Expedition edited by Gary

E. Moulton, U. of Nebraska Press, 1983-

2001.)

Our journal entries deal with the activities of

Expedition member Pvt. Hugh Hall.

December 31, 1803, Camp Wood, IL,

Clark: “…Today Colter, Willard,

Leakens, HALL and Collins are drunk.

January 20, 1804, Camp Wood, IL,

Clark: “…A cloudy day. Many Grouse

are caught today and HALL caught 14

rabbits.

April 1, 1804, Camp Wood, IL, Detach-

ment Order: “The Commanding Officers

did yesterday proceed to take the neces-

sary enlistments and select the detach-

ment destined for the expedition through

the interior of the Continent of North

America and have accordingly selected

the persons herein after mentioned as

those which are to constitute their perma-

nent detachment:…Hugh Hall…”

May 13, 1804, Camp Wood, IL, Clark:

“A rainy day. A Frenchman arrived;

soon after Pvt. Hall arrived from St. Lou-

is with letters from Capt. Lewis…”

May 17, 1804, St. Charles, MO, Sgt.

Ordway: “A sergeant and four men will

form themselves into a Court Martial to

hear and determine (on behalf of the

Captain) the evidences adduced against

William Werner and Hugh Hall for being

absent last night without leave; contrary

to orders…Both are guilty of being ab-

sent from camp without leave; it being a

breach of the Rules and Articles of War

Bison, Bison, Bison By: Jim Rosenberger

During the Lewis & Clark Expedition there are many references in the

journals to the majestic animal the captains called buffalo. The captains

referred to the large numbers of these buffalo on the prairies and the im-

portant part they played in supplying meat to feed the Corps of Discov-

ery. On July 13, 1805 Meriwether Lewis records that each day “it re-

quires 4 deer, an elk and a deer, or 1 buffalo to supply us plentifully for

24 hours.” Everyone who reads the journals knows the story of Charbon-

neau preparing “boudin blanc”; Lewis’s favorite dish made of buffalo.

The first thing we need to do is get the name of this majestic animal cor-

rect. Historians think the name buffalo developed from the French word

for beef (boeuf). Many people, including Badger Chapter member Lorna

Hainesworth, have made the case that the proper name for this animal is

not buffalo but rather bison and in that, they are quite correct. Actually,

in North America, the scientific name is bison, bison, bison (genus; bi-

son, species; bison, subspecies; bison. For convenience we will simply

use the name bison.

With all the good this mammal did for the human race, we repaid it by

nearly killing it off. Thankfully, in more recent

Continued on Page 2 (Continued-See “Grey Column” page 2)

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years, we have made a better effort to protect this mammal and

help increase it in numbers. We have recognized the bison in a

number of ways. Examples are; two state, flags (Kansas and

Wyoming) have the bison on them and three states (Kansas,

Oklahoma and Wyoming) have made the bison their state mam-

mal or animal. We all know of the “Indian Head” or “buffalo”

nickel and the bison was portrayed on the 2005 Jefferson Nick-

el commemorating the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. Bison

have also been portrayed on commemorative state quarters

(2005 Kansas, 2006 North Dakota) and national parks quarters

(2010 Yellowstone Park). Since 1912 a bison has been on the

official seal of the Department of the Interior. Now the bison

has received the ultimate recognition it deserves. On May 9,

2016 the President signed legislation making the bison the na-

tional mammal of the United States of America.

But recognizing the bison as our national mammal was not an

overnight accomplishment. According to the Wildlife Conser-

vation Society (wcs.org); “This effort to make the bison our

national mammal is the culmination of a collaborative effort by

a group of more than 60 organizations, tribes and businesses led

by the Inter Tribal Buffalo Council, National Bison Association

and the Wildlife Conservation Society, to officially commemo-

rate the ecological, cultural, historical and economic contribu-

tion of bison. The adoption of bison as our National Mammal

represents a validation of the many meaningful ways this ani-

mal represents America. As an ecological keystone, cultural

bedrock and economic driver, the bison conveys values such as

unity, resilience and commitment to healthy landscapes and

communities.”

Depending on what you read, it is estimated there originally

were somewhere between 30 to 60 million bison ranging

throughout the United States. It is safe to say their numbers

were in the 10’s of millions. But because of continuous hunt-

ing and killing of these grand animals, poor stewardship of the

environment and interbreeding with domestic cattle, by the late

1800’s the number of bison in the United States fell to around

1,000 animals. They were near being extinct. Thanks to con-

servationists such as William T. Hornaday a movement began

to protect the bison and in 1894 the first federal legislation was

enacted to protect the bison. Killing bison became punishable

by being sent to prison. In 1896, with the involvement of Presi-

dent Theodore Roosevelt and other supporters, the American

Bison Society was formed and bison were bred to populate wild

reserves.

Today there are bison living in every state. Yellowstone Na-

tional Park is the only place in the United States where bison

have continuously lived since prehistoric times. Yellowstone

bison do not have cattle genes making them pure descendants

of the early bison. The Yellowstone

and do sentence them each to receive twenty-five lashes

on their naked back, but the Court recommends them

from their former good conduct to the mercy of the Com-

manding Officer…The punishment ordered to be inflict-

ed…is remitted under the assurance arriving from a confi-

dence which the Commanding Officer has of the sincerity

of the recommendation from the court…” Signed Wm.

Clark.

June 29, 1804, mouth of the Kansas River, Order by Capt.

Clark: “A court Martial will set this day at 11 o’clock to

consist of five members for the trial of John Collins and

Hugh Hall…Hugh Hall was brought with taking whiskey

out of a keg this morning which whiskey was stored on

the bank…contrary to all order, rule, or regulation. To

this charge the prisoner “Pleads Guilty.” The court finds

the prisoner guilty and sentences him to receive fifty lash-

es on his bear back. The Commanding Officers approve

of the sentence of the court and orders that the punish-

ment take place at half past three this evening, at which

time the party will parade for inspection.”

March 6, 1806, Ft. Clatsop, OR, Lewis: “…Hugh Hall

had his foot and ankle much injured yesterday by the fall

of a large stick of timber; the bones were fortunately not

broken and I expect he will be able to walk again short-

ly…”

May 19, 1806, Clearwater County, ID, Lewis: “…We

sent Charbonneau, Thompson, Potts, HALL and Wiser

over the river to a village above in order to purchase

some roots to eat with our lean bear meat. For this pur-

pose we gave them a few awls, knitting pins and arm-

bands…”

July 24, 1806, Yellowstone River near Billings, MT,

Clark: “…Hugh Hall, who cannot swim, expressed a will-

ingness to proceed on with Sgt. Pryor by land and as an-

other man was necessary to assist in driving on the hors-

es; but observing he was naked, I gave him one of my

two remaining shirts, a pair of leather leggings and three

pair of moccasins which equipped him completely and

sent him on with the party by land to the Mandans…”

July 26, 1806, Yellowstone County, MT, Clark: “…

Passed an island and four stony bars, also a large creek 40

yards wide I call HALLS River…”

August 8, 1806; McKenzie County, ND, Clark: “…At 8

A.M. Sgt N. Pryor, Shannon, HALL and Windsor came

down the river in two canoes made of buffalo skins…”

Bison, Bison, Bison– continued from page 1

Continued on Page 3

“Gray Column” Continued from page 1

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bison population is estimated at

between 4,000 and 5,000 animals making it the largest

population on public lands.

The Department of the Interior has been the primary

steward of the bison, managing public lands which

support 17 bison herds or approximately 10,000 bison

in 12 states including Alaska.

It is estimated that today there are 500,000 bison in

the United States. However, these numbers include

herds that are raised for their meat, etc. and most of

these bison are not genetically pure bison as the Yel-

lowstone herd.

The bison has been an important part in the lives of

American Indian Nations and many nations have been

instrumental in raising herds of bison. In 1990 the

Inter Tribal Bison Council was formed and today has

a membership of 56 tribes in 19 states with herd totals

of more than 15,000 bison.

The bison is the largest mammal in North America;

the males weighing up to 2,000 pounds and standing 6

feet tall at their hump and the females weighing 1,000

pounds and standing 4 to 5 feet tall. Calves will

weigh 30 to 70 pounds at birth. The bison is capable

of running up to 35 miles per hour and will live 10 to

20 years.

These are all interesting facts about the bison but the

important fact is recognizing the bison as our national

mammal. It demonstrates that we want to be good

stewards of our environment and the wildlife that live

in it. You may recall that our national emblem, the

bald eagle, was at one time threatened with extinction

but with a united effort it was saved and now thrives.

We can relate to all of this since the efforts of the

Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation are to be

good stewards of the Lewis and Clark National His-

toric Trail and this would include all the flora and fau-

na along the trail which includes the noble bison. The

bison has contributed to our history and well being

and it only seems proper that if we are to have a na-

tional mammal, it should be the bison.

The legislation making the bison the national mammal

does not do much of anything more than that. It does

not replace or remove the bald eagle as our national

emblem; it is simply designated as another symbol for

our country. It does not create or change existing leg-

islation relative to the bison. The legislation does des-

ignate the first Saturday of November as a day to cele-

brate the bison as our national mammal.

As the national mammal, the bison joins our other na-

tional symbols; the oak as our national tree

(designated in 2004), the rose as our national floral

emblem (designated in 1998) and the bald eagle as our

national emblem (designated in 1782 at the 2nd Conti-

nental Congress).

Symbols are not all that unusual; many states have

them also, including Wisconsin. Our state symbols

are: the badger, state animal; the white-tailed deer,

state wildlife animal; the robin, state bird; the muskel-

lunge, state fish; the sugar maple, state tree; the wood

violet, state flower and the cranberry, state fruit.

So with the importance of the bison to Lewis and

Clark and the history of our country I think we should

join in and celebrate the bison becoming the symbol

of our national mammal. For the past few years Badg-

er Chapter members have celebrated the bison with an

annual picnic at chapter member Mark Koeppl’s Cat-

nip Hollow Bison Ranch and we hope you will attend

our next get together.

Cont’d from pg 2

2015 Badger State Chapter Picnic

at the Catnip Hollow Bison Ranch

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directed towards a younger membership population.

The question, of course, is how do we do that? We

could advertise in local media or put on seminars

about our organizations in those areas and utilize the

ever present effort of each member signs up a new

member. I am open to ideas and suggestions.

I have heard a rumor that Lewis and Clark enthusiasts

and chapters in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota are

considering a merger into one regional chapter. This

sounds quite innovative and if this actually takes place

it may encourage more folks to join such a chapter.

As a member of the Foundation membership commit-

tee I learned that membership in the Foundation is at

around 1,000 dues paid members. This compares to

almost 4,000 dues paid members during the bicenten-

nial. The bicentennial was our high point but I think

the current membership number demonstrates we need

to do some hard work on recruiting new members.

So there are some facts, figures and comments on

membership to think about. Above all, let’s keep our

interest in Lewis and Clark history at a high level and

proceed on from there.

Alexander Willard Project Update

As reported in the April edition of “Field Notes”, at

our February chapter meeting in Ripon our Badger

Chapter members were able to review the signs the

Chapter Willard Committee had developed for the

Platteville, Homestead and lead mining locations and

gave us some valuable input. Since then a graphic arts

designer has reviewed all three signs and also gave

some important suggestions. The sign artwork was

then submitted to the manufacturers for additional

input and the signs have been ordered, one made of

cast aluminum and two of a sun-shielded laminate

material. At this point we anticipate it will take two

months for the signs to be completed, delivered and

installed, probably by the end of summer. We have

also filed the required interim report with the Lewis

and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation.

We are excited to be at this point as it is essentially on

the schedule we anticipated. Many thanks to John

Sabaka, Chuck Bebow and especially Tom and Mary

Strauss who have invested a lot of their personal time

in the project. We will keep you advised as things

develop further.

President’s Message By: Jim Rosenberger

I was reviewing our list of

Badger State Chapter

members and, just for the

fun of it, I thought a little

closer analysis was in or-

der and I would like to

share some interesting

facts with you.

Since the end of the Lewis

and Clark Bicentennial we have been very fortunate to

maintain a membership level numbering in the high

seventies and at one point we reached 80 members.

We currently have 77 dues paying members. We have

some members from the central areas of the state, a

few from Northern Wisconsin and Western Wisconsin

but the major geographic areas of our current mem-

bership are Madison, Milwaukee and the Fox River

Valley. 18 of our members live in states other than

Wisconsin. Those states are; Iowa, Illinois, Indiana,

Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Maryland, Montana,

Virginia and Washington.

Of our 77 members, 45 are male and 32 are female.

There are 22 couples who are members (44 individu-

als) and 33 individual members. Within that, our 18

out of state members are comprised of 5 couples (10

individuals) and 8 individual members.

I am happy to say that the majority of our Chapter

members are also Foundation members. We have typ-

ically ranged from 73% to 76% of our Chapter mem-

bers being Foundation members. Of course you know

what I am going to say next. If you are not a Founda-

tion member I encourage you to join and support Lew-

is and Clark history and the trail on a national basis.

Of course the challenge is always to add more mem-

bers on both the chapter and the national level. For

our Chapter I think there is the opportunity to promote

membership in the Northern, Central and Western are-

as of our state. Hopefully our “Willard in Wisconsin”

project and our future projects will draw new mem-

bers to our chapter. On a national level, it would help

if the HBO movie would be completed and shown (no

news on that subject) so some promotion by the Foun-

dation could be done. Approval of the Eastern Legacy

portion of the trail would also give an opportunity for

some much needed publicity for the Foundation. An-

other effort on both national and local level should be

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Replica Trail – Update

In 2011, with the help of a grant from Fund for Teach-

ers, two teachers in Wisconsin’s Adams-Friendship

School District, Paul Timm and Virginia Fritz, along

with their spouses, toured the Lewis and Clark Nation-

al Historic Trial on motorcycles. The tour took them

from Camp River DuBois to Fort Clatsop and return.

Upon returning to their school, Grand Marsh Elemen-

tary in Grand Marsh, WI they got their students,

school, school district, community and government

entities like Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Re-

sources and the National Park Service involved in

constructing a Lewis and Clark Replica Trail just be-

hind the school. You may recall a number of articles

about the Replica Trail in past issues of “Field Notes.”

Recall also the Badger State Chapter nominated Grand

Marsh Elementary School for a Meritorious Achieve-

ment Award from the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage

Foundation and the award was presented to the school

at the 2013 Foundation annual meeting in Bismarck,

ND with Paul Timm accepting the award for the

school.

Since then we learned that both Paul Timm and Vir-

ginia Fritz had retired from the school and felt it was

important to contact the school and inquire as to what

the future holds for the Replica Trail. We were fortu-

nate enough to contact Michelle Johnson, principal at

Grand Marsh Elementary and we had a very good dis-

cussion about the trail. The school continues to utilize

the trail for history, science and PE classes as well as

hiking, snow shoeing and cross country skiing. Given

time constraints and work loads, Ms. Johnson and I

agreed to set up another contact sometime in Septem-

ber to further discuss and hopefully plan how the

Badger State Chapter and the Foundation could sup-

port the Replica Trail.

Further updates will be provided as things develop.

Minnesota Regional Meeting

Information about the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage

Foundation Regional Meeting being held in the Twin

Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota was previ-

ously emailed to chapter members and in checking

with meeting organizer and Badger Chapter member

Lou Ritten, there are a few openings for the meeting

remaining.

The meeting dates are September 17-19, 2016 and will

be a two part event exploring Lewis & Clark connec-

tions in the Upper Midwest. Part 1 will be on Satur-

day the 17th and Sunday the 18th and will feature

tours of several sites of historic and cultural interest

and a paddlewheel boat ride on the Mississippi River.

The Registration fee for Part 1 is $200 and includes all

entrance fees, bus transportation, lunch and dinner on

both days. Part 2 on Monday the 19th will include a

drive through St. Paul and down the Mississippi River

to Wabasha, MN, were you will visit the National Ea-

gle Center and then make a mystery stop at a special

place. The fee for Part 2 is $75 and includes entrance

fees, bus transportation and lunch.

A block of rooms has been reserved from Friday, Sep-

tember 16, through Tuesday, September 20, at the

Best Western Dakota Ridge Hotel, 3450 Washington

Dr., Eagan, MN. Phone 651-452-0100. The cost is

$89 plus tax per room per night. Ask for the Lewis

and Clark rate (this special rate expires on August 26!)

Registration has been limited to 50 attendees and

again, there are a few openings remaining.

If you are interested in attending contact Lou Ritten at

lritten01@yahoo.com or 708-354-7778.

Lou has planned and conducted excellent regional

meetings in Chicago and New Orleans and the Twin

Cities should be an equally interesting, educational

and fun event.

Newsletter Articles

Do you have an interesting thought about

the Lewis & Clark Expedition, or know

someone who shares our interest in “The

Journey?” Would you like to share it with

others through this newsletter? Then write to either

Jim Rosenberger at punkinz@tds.net or Bill Holman

at wghmch@gmail.com. If you don’t have e-mail, call

Bill at (608) 249-2233. If you include a picture, we

will be happy to return it upon request.

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sharp and we are thankful none of the men were in-

jured. Usually the buffalo are docile and even allow

us to walk among them but not so with this animal.

Today we proceed on up river and passed a place

where the Indians had driven about one hundred head

of buffalo over a precipice. Our Mandan and Hidatsa

friends at Ft. Mandan had told us of this way of hunt-

ing the buffalo. Hunters on horseback drive a herd of

buffalo towards a precipice while other hunters stand

in a line near the precipice and on each side of the

herd waving blankets. All this activity frightens and

confuses the buffalo and they end up being driven

over the precipice and killed on the rocks below. The

women of the tribe then clean the buffalo for the

meat. These people use nearly all the remains of the

buffalo; meat and fat for food, horns and bones for

utensils and weapons and hides and skins for clothing

and lodging. Anything left behind is soon devoured

by wolves in the area. The wolves follow the buffalo

herds and take any opportunity to feed themselves on

this bounty.

We proceed on and I will write again as time permits.

Your cuzzin,

Patrick Gass

(Note: Bill Holman, a Badger State Chapter member and

the editor of the Badger State Chapter’s “Field Notes,” is

the second cousin four times removed, of Patrick Gass. He

has offered these “letters from the trail”, which must have

been held up in the mail.)

Letters from my cousin, Patrick Gass,

With the Corps of Discovery

Dear Cuzzin Bill,

From time to time I will try to

send you some interesting bits

from my journal. I made these

notes during May of 1805, not

long after we had left Fort Man-

dan. I surely hope I can get some-

one interested enough to publish

them when we return to the United

States.. I write this on May 29, 1805 and our expedition is

approximately two months out from Ft. Mandan, trav-

eling the Missouri toward the western mountains. We

proceeded on early and had a fine morning; passed

two rivers, one flowing into the Missouri on each

side. At about 12 noon it became quite cloudy and

then began to rain. We traveled about eighteen miles

and then the captains ordered us to halt at a handsome

grove of timbers on the south side of the river. It

rained a little all of the afternoon but some of the men

were able to go out hunting. They returned later in the

day with an elk they had killed.

Last night about midnight we experienced an exciting

yet very dangerous occurrence in our camp. a large

buffalo swam across the river and entered into our

camp. He landed where one of our pirogues was se-

cured and for reasons unknown became quite excit-

ed. Perhaps just the presence of the men and equip-

ment frightened him but at any rate, he charged into

and through our encampment. He first lumbered over

one of pirogues and in doing so broke two of our

guns. Fortunately our blacksmith, Privates Shields

and his two assistants, Privates Willard and Bratten,

say they can easily repair the guns. The buffalo then

ran through the area where the men slept, nearly step-

ping on a number of them but again fortune was with

us and none of the men were injured. By this time

many of the men had awoken from their sleep and

were running around the camp which probably exited

the buffalo even that much more. Suddenly and

thankfully, Captain Lewis's dog charged into the camp

directly at the buffalo diverting the buffalo's direction

of travel, causing the buffalo to run off through the

woods and into the prairie. That dog has done us

great service on the expedition. The buffalo was quite

large; equal in height to a man's head and quite broad

across the hump. His horns and hoofs appeared quite

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Treasurer’s Report

The Badger State Chapter had $10,838.52

in the Treasury as of July 1, 2016. Our 77

Chapter members come from Wisconsin,

Minnesota, Michigan, Montana, Illinois, Indiana,

Iowa, Maryland, Washington, Virginia, & Florida.

Seaman Says-July 2016

We continue with the post-

expedition journals of Seaman,

recently discovered in the minds

and creative thoughts of the pub-

lishers of “Field Notes”

Nov. 9, 1806: Days ago we depart-

ed Governor Harrison’s home, “Grouseland” and have

since been traveling toward the Ohio River and the

home of Capt. Clark’s family, in and around the town

of Louisville, Kentucky. I recall this location from

our travels down the Ohio in 1803. Capt. Clark ap-

pears anxious and excited at the prospect of seeing his

family once again; my Capt. Lewis not so much.

Our first stop was to a familiar location; “Point of

Rocks” which is the home of Capt. Clark’s older

brother, General George Rogers Clark. I had met the

general in ’03 and was impressed by him. He seems

to be somewhat of a gruff or angry/bitter man but cer-

tainly a good man and a leader of men. He has aged a

bit but has retained all of these traits. The general was

happy to see Capt. Clark; there was much hugging

and laughter and the general wanted to hear all of the

stories of our explorations. But then we had to depart,

taking the general with us, we crossed the Ohio River

to the home of Mrs. Lucy Croghan, Capt. Clark’s sis-

ter. The home is called, “Locust Grove.”

Here I must interject my frustration with the human

species’ tendency to want to name everything. It is

their desire to name a boat, a house, or a piece of land

etc. as if it were a person. To make matters more con-

fusing, family names change. Capt. Clark’s sisters’

names are not Clark but rather Croghan or O’Fallen or

some other name. This leaves me very confused.

Naturally, with everyone together again, the celebra-

tions and parties began. For the next few days there

were dinners, dancing, drinking and discussions as

everyone got reacquainted. Of course there were

many of those things called “toasts” celebrating the

Captains and their men. “Toasts” have followed us all

the way from St. Louis. Captain Lewis spoke to me tonight; he is anxious to

get the party on its way. He indicated

that Capt. Clark will stay in Louis-

ville for a while longer but we will

join forces again further east. I am

sure Capt. Lewis would like to see his

family. I await his orders.

Badger State Chapter Officers:

Jim Rosenberger…...……….……………….…….President

Phone: (608)833-2488 E-mail: punkinz@tds.net

Jack Schroeder..………….……….…….…...Vice-President

Ph: (608)204-0052 E-mail: alljackallday@gmail.com

Mary Strauss..……………..……..……….……….Secretary

Phone: (920)602-1726 E-mail: mary@ammeinc.com

Marcia Holman………….............……….…..…...Treasurer

Phone: (608)249-2233 E-mail: mchwgh@gmail.com

Board of Directors:

1-David Sorgel

(608)516-1830 E-mail: davidsorgel@onthunderlake.com

2-Dick Campbell

(920)231-8267 E-mail: rmchistory@tds.net

3-Tom Strauss

(920)602-1639 E-mail: tom@ammeinc.com

Field Notes Editor:

Bill Holman

Phone: (608)249-2233 E-mail: wghmch@gmail.com